All good things must come to an end, and so it was for Duke this weekend as eighth-ranked Clemson snapped the No. 5 Blue Devils' six-game win streak in a 1-0 contest in Clemson, S.C. Saturday.
The game, postponed from Friday night due to rain, was a defensive battle. Duke's defense remained strong, allowing just two shots on goal and nine total. The Clemson (12-3-2, 2-3-2 in the ACC) defense, however, was equally formidable, holding the Blue Devils (13-3-1, 5-2-1) to 11 shots, only one of which was on goal.
The lone goal of the match came just over 27 minutes into the game. Clemson junior midfielder Mark Buchholz lofted a throw from the left sideline into the box. From eight yards out, Tiger sophomore Michael Brooks headed the ball into the back of the net for his fourth goal of the season.
"Their field is quite narrow, and they have a player who can throw the ball quite far," Duke goalkeeper Justin Papadakis said of the goal. "I thought we could have done a little bit better defensively on it, but we'll work on it in practice this week."
The only shot on goal of the game for Duke came from senior Chris Loftus, off a corner kick to the near post of the Tigers' goal.
"It went over the kid's head I was guarding," Loftus said. "It came down, and I hit it out of the air with the inside of my foot, low, about a foot off the ground, and the goalie reacted and saved it with his foot."
Although the Blue Devils tallied seven corner kicks to the Tigers' one, they were unable to convert in front of the goal and suffered their third shutout of the season.
"Clemson was very good at countering on us," Loftus said. "Once we were pushing a lot of guys forward to get that equalizer, they were able to counter us."
The Blue Devils felt the absence of junior Michael Videira, who sat out the contest with an injured ankle. The midfielder suffered the injury in the first few minutes of the UNC game Oct. 20, but he practiced Sunday and should be back at full strength for Wednesday's first-round game in the ACC Championships.
The game Saturday was a physical battle-32 fouls were called in the contest, 20 against the Tigers and 12 on Duke. Seven yellow cards were also issued-four to Clemson and three to the Blue Devils, tying the most issued in a Duke game this season.
"They play a very physical game and keep pounding teams and pounding teams," Papadakis said. "The first half was especially hard, because the wind was quite heavy, and they had the wind."
After this weekend's play, Duke clinched a tie for the ACC regular-season title with Wake Forest, as the Demon Deacon's defeated Virginia, 2-1, Friday. The Blue Devils now head to the ACC Championship tournament, which starts Wednesday in College Park, Md.
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